October 2017

Miss Kailee Jo is growing up so fast!!!

Months 6, 7, and 8 went by so fast! She is such a cheerful little girl.

Nathan's allergies kicked into high gear during a ward campout. We weren't sure if it was the freshly cut grass, the weeds in their final stages before winter or the bushy like trees that we couldn't identify. Regardless of the cause, he was miserable. His eyes were swollen shut and he had a rash all over his body.

Bedtime is best with pets.

This was our second year using our home grown pumpkins for Halloween carving. We had enough pumpkins to carve as well as decorate the front patio. Unfortunately, our patio pumpkins were demolished when someone went through the neighborhood smashing everyone's pumpkins in the streets.

While I read a book in bed on this not-so-favorite holiday of mine, LeRoy took a few pictures and answered the door. 

 Levi and Daymia, those adorable bandits,as well as Justin, our handsome devil...with a light saber, and our usual Banana Boy and Crooked Cowboy were joined by Kayla, Sabrina, Bryan, and Brock as they roamed from door to door in our neighborhood.


 We weren't at all surprised to see the Hellbusch Family dressed in Batman attire for Halloween.

Batman, Joker and Penguin

September & October

Hyrum insists (and his assumption is correct), "School is SO LONG!"

After surviving those long seven hours of school, we celebrate their freedom with friends and a snack.

Each morning Hyrum zips his imagination into the biggest pocket of his backpack (because "the small pockets are not big enough"). He's working on focusing while at school and only gets to take his imagination out during recess and when he gets home. Once home, he unzips that backpack pocket and out pops his huge imagination ready for play.

 While the kids are at school Charlie and I hang out in the silence of an empty home. He sleeps on the window ledge while I work and he jumps down on the stool when it's time for a break or the boredom has hit him hard enough that he needs a treat. After ignoring him while working one day, I looked over to see him with his nose on the wall. I have no idea what he did wrong but he put himself in timeout!

Charlie is just as excited to have the boys get home from school as I am! His tail sets into a wagging craze as he pals around with Hyrum during imagination time.

I had attempted to find out what Charlie's whining was about and finally just left the back door open for him. He dragged his bed out the door and down the stairs. Was my puppy trying to run away? Evidently, he just wanted his comfy bed for a little sun bathing.

How can I resist this cute little beggar?

I don't.

As much as we attempt to celebrate our freedom each afternoon, we do have chores.

There's never a lack of laundry, yard, house and work chores to be done.

Even the pets do their part.

For about a week the boys worked on loading up all the scrap wire to take to the recycling center for a little extra cash. Brock helped occasionally, not realizing this was actual work. On the final day, they loaded the remaining scraps, headed to Idaho Falls and came away with $900 to split among them. They far exceeded their hope of a "little extra cash" and promptly padded their savings accounts and started planning for their spending cash.

It isn't all work around here.

Hyrum's soccer season took us right into the bitter chilly winds of fall.

 I love his cross-eyed look!

Justin's cheer schedule found us at football games on the weekend, many of which were attended with umbrellas, blankets and full winter wear.

The boys each enjoy their weekly scout meeting.

And finally, Sunday . . . a day of rest from all the crazy of the other six days of the week.

Kimber's Garden of Eatin'

When we moved into this house I intended to have a garden. However, the landscaping company came two days early and sprayed the entire lot with hydro seed and in my garden spot grew a lush green grass. For eight years I considered killing the grass and going back to my garden plans but summer life always went so fast.

This year, I knew I needed a garden for my emotional survival. There has been something missing and I've had nagging thoughts that it was playing in the dirt, planting seeds and caring for them, and harvesting colorful, healthy foods. So, I began my research. I didn't want to just do a humdrum garden, I wanted it to flourish.

Through random (though inspired) connections, LeRoy led me to a couple of people in our Hibbard area that know how to handle our sandy soil, what plants grow best here as well as when to plant and how to fertilize them.

Greg Liggett, who was the previous horticulture specialist and managing groundskeeper at BYUI, cleared the grass and tilled the ground and taught me how to prep the soil. I learned from Dave Woods, owner of Woods Gardens, all about a drip system instead of having overhead sprinklers and I, myself, changed every sprinkler head around the garden plot and laid out all my drip lines to make the system work right.

I played in the dirt. I carefully planned the layout and spacing of each row. I planted seed and cared for it. I loved every dirty, hardworking, minute of it and looked forward to it each morning. LeRoy and I built a long trellis for the peas to grow on and I invested in water walls and mulch to protect the tender plants. I researched garden bugs and how to naturally prevent them without pesticides. When plants and buds started growing I made everyone walk out to the garden with me to admire them.

The harvesting began with spinach and lettuce, followed shortly by juicy peas. As the garden rows grew in more full the boys interest in a garden started to flourish. When picking time came they were all in support of "Mom's garden". I would often find Brock and Hyrum huddled in the pea row snacking away and Nathan hidden deep in the raspberries filling his belly.

Suddenly, the raspberry patches were overflowing! The pea vines were as tall as the trellis and drooping from the weight of hundreds of pea pods. The carrots were still tiny and the cucumbers and tomatoes were coming along slowly but I had a real garden and it was feeding us!

August brought on a full harvest. I only had three cantaloupe plants but they needed to be picked daily and we ended up giving some to neighbors. The tomatoes kept a steady crop from the beginning of August clear through the middle of October. We found that we LOVE the small yellow tomatoes and next year we won't even plant the red ones. The carrots were getting larger, the beets were perfection, the onions coming along great, the strawberries held on fairly steady, and the beans were out of control in population. The pepper plants got some kind of bug (more research to be done before next year) and had to be pulled because it got out of hand before I even noticed it. The little baby watermelons and pumpkins were soaking up plenty of sun and growing bigger everyday.

All of this delicious, colorful goodness changed our cravings and by the time the boys started school we had prepared lunch ideas that were more nutrition based. The boys were excited to plan their lunches making sure to have a protein, fresh fruits and/or vegetables and a carb.

The garden even caused a refrigerator makeover! Though we had to cover them several nights due to frost, the tomatoes continued to produce clear into October. We dug up the last of the carrots (some of which were HUGE!) and layered them in buckets of sand from the empty back corner of the lot so that we would have them all winter. And, our two pumpkin plants produced 26 pumpkins! (Why no picture??) Several pumpkins were used for jack-o-lanterns, some were made into warm soup and pumpkin bars, some were blended and frozen and the final ones were stolen from our porch and smashed all over the road (several houses in the neighborhood were hit).

I already miss my garden and look forward to next year armed with even more knowledge and planning.

Kailee Jo: 6 Months Old

Since Bret and Erika moved to Utah it seems that Miss Kailee Jo is growing even faster. We miss having her close but visits to and from Utah make our time together even more special.

During one of their visits, Daymia took several photos of Kailee. It takes massive amounts of control to not break Blogger with all 357 pictures in the "Kailee Jo - 6 months" folder.

They totally look professional!! What a beautiful baby girl!

Daymia's eye for a good shot is amazing and her mom's editing skills brightened the pictures just enough.

Looking at their family pictures brings to mind our first family picture with Levi when he was about the same age and it made me wonder in joy at what lies ahead for their family.

This girl and her daddy are adorable together!

I'm so thankful for snapchat and Marco Polo to let Erika send me daily pictures and videos of their life in Utah. I'm so proud of Bret and Erika and the decisions they are making for their family! What an honor to be part of their lives.

Farewell, America

Sprinkled between our day trips, the summer was filled with four-wheeler rides, pool games with LeRoy and the little boys, feeding the horses and cuddling with Charlie and Harrison, and naps in the sun. I didn't even run the air conditioning all summer and Vivien still couldn't get warm. 

There were also multiple trips to the hot spot of Rexburg, (Walmart, of course!) where they found all kinds of crap (pun intended) all of which seemed to be over sized. We call it family sized but to our out-of-country visitors it was just plain huge. . . cereal, chips, vegetables, and yes, even shorts. Shorts so large that they each fit in one leg! The cowboy hat wasn't over sized but it sure was handsome on Gabor, yeehaw!

Vivien took Gabor to see where she attended high school and on a subsequent trip was also able see one of her favorite teachers, Mr. Parker. The summer was not all play for Gabor who has an amazing dedication to his studies. Nearly every day he was found studying his English at the kitchen table or at the little bench that Hyrum built.

When it came time to take them to the airport, it became very real and sad that they would no longer be a daily presence in our home. One of the freeway signs in Utah gave us a good laugh but it isn't true. 

Kids give the best hugs and I will miss these two kids! It was great to be with Vivien and to have our long talks and random trips into town again. It was wonderful to meet Gabor and to add another member to our family. I adore them both! We are so lucky that they could tolerate our crazy family long enough for us to make some silly, meaningful, family memories and solidify our relationship even more for years to come.

The Sunday after they had flown back home I overheard LeRoy and the boys talking downstairs. They were reminiscing about the good times with Gabor. They all enjoyed having another person to play games with them. Pool, ping pong, and foosball will never be the same.

School Year 2016-2017

Where did my babies go?? Nathan is moving on to 5th grade at the Middle School and Hyrum is in 3rd grade at Hibbard Elementary.

A new year always brings enthusiasm and silliness on that first day.

My mom heart is so full of love for these two! I'm grateful for their excitement for life and the joy they bring to our family.

We went over to the Miller's front yard for the annual back to school neighborhood breakfast and to catch the bus with all their friends. Brock was happy to have the boys get on the bus with him for his first day of 1st grade.

Justin started his senior year with contemplation . . . not really, he was totally posing. He has already been attending cheer practices throughout June and August (6 a.m.!!) but today he got to sleep in before performing at the morning assembly.

I'm treating this as just another school year until the very last drop of denial is forced out of me at his graduation. This smart, handsome, witty, young man amazes me in so many ways. I will enjoy every ball game, every practice, every competition, every presentation, every lunch, every late night conversation, and store them in my forever memories.

Fourth Annual Hike to Darby Wind Caves

Hiking snacks, water bottles, and insulated back packs ready!

Our first stop is always in Driggs to update our Spud Drive-In family photo.

It make me happy to see the older kids get excited to stop somewhere that isn't really that interesting but the tradition brings up so many memories.

The beginning of the hike had us wondering once again WHY we do this hike every year! I swear that mountain gets more steep each year. We took frequent breaks to catch our breath and drink water and after about mile 2 our legs accepted the trek and we made good time.

Gabor, Vivien, Nathan, Brian, Kayla, Justin, LeRoy, Sabrina, Hyrum, Levi, Daymia, Derek


At the base of the falls we stopped for snacks and to put jackets on before heading into the cave.

Only the brave and adventurous crossed the falls and went into the cold darkness. That left Daymia and I resting in the sun against the warm rocks. Honestly, I've never had so much trouble on a hike before. My legs needed a serious break!

As they emerged from the cave in pairs we heard stories of crawling along their bellies, darkness so thick you could feel it and a bitter cold that eventually forced an end to their spelunking adventures. Once we were all together again we started our decent, which always goes much faster than the climb in part because our traditional burger joint is waiting for us upon our return.

Much to our dismay, Basin Burger was closed for a remodel. We backtracked a little to find TJ's Pizza and Pasta. The pizza was okay, the pasta needed a little more kick, the animals on the wall creeped Vivien out, but the flowering chips were creative.

Next year we'll go to the newly remodeled Basin Burger. (Did I just say next year? Have I forgotten already how torturous that hike is?)


The following picture caught me in a very tired mood as I lay in bed with sore, shaky legs looking through photos from the day.

If a picture is worth a thousand words then lets analyze this one.

Up in the left corner is Vivien and Gabor obviously sharing a secret. Or maybe a kiss? I know, they founds diamonds in the cave! Okay, they were just hiding from the camera.

At the right we have Justin looking a little caught off guard while Kayla appears about to gag. Hmmm . . . feeling gassy, Justin?  I have no idea what was really taking place.

Sabrina, Sabrina, Sabrina . . . if you don't want your picture taken you don't have to flip me off.
Fine, she's only brushing her hair out of her face.

Brian, Stop! Rolling down the hill is not the best way. Actually maybe the steady, careful 10 year old is just making his way away from the crazy people.

Gabor's Birthday

Gabor doesn't much care for sweets so I made a carrot cake, a little less sweet than most cakes, and banana muffins using my banana bread recipe which has become his favorite. Vivien and I decorated them with minimal frosting (and from her glare she was so happy that I took pictures of the event).

After a very out of tune round of "Happy Birthday" we gave him our gifts. Nathan gave him a silicone oven mitt to use for making his now famous "Gabor potatoes" and Hyrum shared his loved of cooking by giving him a chef hat. The boys picked out a card so appropriate for their relationship and inside jokes with Gabor.

"On your birthday remember - it's better to be a party animal . . . than a farty animal!"

Vivien's only request for his birthday was to have a pinata because he'd never had one before. With our lack of trees we struggle to find a place to hang a pinata. We tried the basketball stand but that wasn't working so we gave in and did it the Edwards way.  Justin pitched it to Gabor and he hit it with a baseball bat.

After sharing the pinata spoils and gathering up the mess, Hyrum and Gabor pulled out their aprons (Vivien gave him the apron for his birthday) and chef hats and geared up for some kitchen creativity.

Happy Birthday, Gabor!!! 
♥♥  The Edwards Family Loves You  ♥♥